Communications

Pursuant to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140/1 to 11), I hereby request the following records:

Documentation on the Azavea HunchLab Predictive Policing Software (https://www.hunchlab.com/) including, but not limited to, the following:

- Initial Bid Documents- Current and previous contracts with Azavea- Requests for Proposals- Memorandum(s) of Understanding- Any privacy impact assessments- Any instructional materials or presentations- Use policies and standard operating procedures- Data retention policies- Letters of Interest- Usage policies- Any informal agreements that reference "hunchlab" or otherwise guide it use or the relationship between this agency and the provider or developer of the software.

For reference and help in retrieving responsive documents, this program was publicly discussed in the following article:

"The Chicago Police Department is applying machine learning and predictive analytics to police data sets; including crime incidents, arrests, and weather data. When historical data (like previous arrest records) is combined with real-time IoT data, such as sensor-influenced cameras designed to detect gunshots, it becomes easier to pinpoint problem locations and understand the conditions in which crime can flourish.

Bringing this information together is HunchLab: a geographic prediction tool that uses data modeling to predict risk in specific locations across the city. At-risk areas are highlighted on-screen, while recommendations for evasive action (such as deploying a high visibility police patrol car to take stock of the situation and deter criminals) are displayed alongside. This information is collated into a ‘decision support system’, made available to individual police officers on the beat." [ source: https://www.ibm.com/blogs/internet-of-things/big-data-crime-prevention/ ]

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.

I noticed your FOIA request to the Chicago Police Department aboutHunchLab; as the product manager for HunchLab, I wanted to reach out to youto see if we could be of assistance in providing information about HunchLab.

In response to conversations with other researchers that engage in FOIArequests, we've assembled a draft document called "A Citizen's Guide toHunchLab". It aims to provide easy to understand but accurate descriptionsof HunchLab including its purpose, types of data used, our designdecisions, and specific names for the types of data we both hold and createwithin the system. I've attached a copy that you may find useful.